Liukin somersaults to gold

BEIJING: Russian-born Nastia Liukin of the United States won the women’s gymnastics individual all-round event on Friday to break China’s stranglehold on the sport at the Beijing Olympics.

Liukin’s compatriot and Olympic Village room-mate Shawn Johnson took silver to make it a one-two finish for the United States, with Yang Yilan in third place for the hosts. Decked out in a hot-pink leotard, Liukin finished on 63.325 points, with Johnson on 62.725 and Yang scoring 62.65.

Until Liukin’s win, China had won all three of the gymnastics gold medals contested at these Games and Johnson said the US one-two helped compensate for losing the team gold to the home nation on Wednesday. Moscow-born Liukin moved to the US as a toddler with her father and coach Valeri Liukin, who won two golds and two silvers in gymnastics for the USSR at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

“I’m still fighting for that medal count with him, he has four, so I have a few more to go,” she said. “It’s an amazing accomplishment, just to be here with him there on the floor exactly 20 years after he competed.”